Election Day Tuesday, if anyone cares

Election Day Tuesday. Time to make up our minds on just who we will vote for — or against — when we make selections on those touch screens.

Not much choice when it comes to the Floyd County Board of Supervisors. The only contested race — between longtime Locust Grove supervisor David Ingram and challenger Lauren Yoder — was decided in the GOP caucus with Yoder unseating the incumbent. The board will be all Republican next year with two new faces: Yoder and retired deputy sheriff Joe Turman.

Unopposed contests for most of the Courthouse poistions: Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Shortt faces no opposition in her bid for a second term. Lisa Baker stands alone for Commissioner of Revenue as does Melissa (Missy) Keith for Treasurer. Baker and Keith replace incumbents who decided not to run for another term.

Different story in the race for sheriff. Shannon Zeman faces opposition from a former deputy — Laura Sparks — and Paul Hill, a heavy equipment mechanic with no law enforcement experience who says God told him to run.

School Board member Margaret Hubbard is unopposed in her bid for re-election while incumbents Clay Link faces challenges from Tea Party member Jesse Lawrence and David Lynn Cartwright and Dave Sulzen is opposed by former county administrator Henry McDaniel.

In the town of Floyd, three candidates — incumbent Michael Patton plus Ross Miller and Dennis Wagner.

The school board races — expected by some to be the hot contests this year after the controversy over now-retired school superintendent Terry Arbogast’s salary and perks package — fizzed in the stretch. McDaniel’s against Sulzen is non-existent and the three-way race in Locust Grove is fairly quiet.

Which leaves the sheriff’s race. While few — if any — expect the popular Zeman to lose, signs for his two opponents sit in a surprising number of yards throughout the county. But a highly-touted campaign rally and fundraiser for Sparks — complete with bands and food — bombed. She did receive an endorsement from retired state trooper Roger Abshire but members of the former trooper’s family have had their run-ins with current law enforcement officials and Abshire wasn’t all that popular when he handed out tickets on Floyd County roads.

Hill says that if he is elected sheriff, the first thing he will do is fire popular chief investigator Jeff Dalton — an interesting statement from a so-called man of God since Dalton is also pastor at Slate Mountain Presbyterian Church.

Some members of the tea party bragged early on that they would field a full slate of candidates to “take control” of county government but that claim — like so many of their actions — contained more hyperbole than substance. Yoder has some ties to the Tea Party but also is critical of the group’s extremism.

What surprised some this year was the complete evaporation of the Democratic party in Floyd County. Democrat Bill Gardiner stepped down after just one term as Burks Fork Supervisor and the party of the donkey didn’t field a single candidate in any of the county races.

For state offices, control of the Virginia Senate is up in the air for Tuesday and Republicans could emerge with control of all levels of state government.

Tuesday is an off-year election with no statewide or federal races on the ballot, so turnout will be a question. A low turnout could trigger some surprises when the ballots are counted.

If there is an election this year, you couldn’t prove it at our house. No candidate for office showed up at our door. No campaign propaganda came in the mail and we did not receive a single phone call from any candidate or political organization.

The outlook for Tuesday isn’t quite that stark. But owing to the quirks of the state’s calendar — which produces a ballot every four years featuring no federal or statewide races to drive turnout — there is a good chance that fewer than one-third of Virginia’s voters will show up at the polls.

5 Comments

Lauren Yoder
on November 7, 2011 at 7:21 am

I think an election year like this is very important, it to bad not everyone agrees. The people we elect on Tuesday will have a very real impact on our day to day life. Local officials actually are the ones we interact with the most.
While there are not many contested races the ones that are contested are very important. The Sheriffs Department and School System are two of the biggest parts of county government and who is running these programs have a real impact.
I am going to miss Bill Gardner serving on the Board of Supervisors. I think he brought a different perspective that is needed. I am sure Joe Turman will do a good job also.

rio semione
on November 7, 2011 at 8:28 am

Thanks Doug. I have seen very little concise info on the ballot this year. I even went to a few local websites and couldn’t find a sample ballot anywhere. And, I hope everyone goes out to the polls!!!!!

Cary
on November 7, 2011 at 6:04 pm

I thought you said you weren’t going to endorse anyone. Sounds to me you are. First of all, the campaign rally and fundraiser you talk about was actually a meet and greet so people can come out and meet and ask questions or voice concerns about what is happening in their community. I thought it was a good turnout, with around a hundred people attending, considering the weather and September being a busy month for most. And about Abshire, no he wasn’t very popular with people writing tickets, but what trooper is? At least he was doing his job. Also, when I checked my mail the other day I had a leaflet from Laura Sparks.

I can’t speak for Floyd, but I suspect the Franklin County Sheriff’s race is going to have a better than decent turnout.

Matt
on November 7, 2011 at 9:53 pm

The irony of Paul Hill’s campaign slogan,”A Common Sense Man”, is nearly exhausting. I’m not sure what worries me most, his lack of law enforcement experience or the self-serving divine inspiration claim. Dude, it was just a dream.

I just read on another site that Amanada Sparks would like to employ her drug dogs during traffic stops of folks who emit the illicit vibe. Yikes!

I don’t know Shannon Zeman personally, but I like how law enforcement is handled in this county. With any luck and a few good votes we’ll be status quo on Wednesday.